Improvement in water-wheels



UNITED @STATES PATENT OFFICE.

N. 'F. BURNHAM, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN WATER-WH EELS.

T0 @ZZ whom it may concern/s Be it known that I, N. F. BURNHAM, of York,in the county of York and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new andImproved Water-Theel 5 andI do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, inwhich- Figure 1 is a vertical central section of my invention, taken inthe line w a', Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan or top view of the saine, partlyin section.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the twofigures.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of water-wheelswhich are placed on a vertical shaft, are inclosed within a scroll, anddischarge the water at the center, and which are commonly termedcenterdischarge wheels.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct myinvention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents the scroll of the wheel, which may be constructed in theusual manner, and B is the wheel which is placed on a vertical shaft, O,the lower end ot'which is stepped at a, as shown in Fig. l. rThe scrollA is constructed of wood, and the wheel of metal. The top plate, b,ofthe wheel is in the form ot an inverted concave cone, and it isprovided with a central' hub, which is firmly keyed to the shaft O.

rlhe buckets c of the wheel have a tangential position, as shown in Fig.2, the buckets being nearly or quite straight at their inner parts, asshown at d, and curved at their outer parts, as shown at e. The upperends of the buckets are att-ached to the top plate,

b, and they are attached at their lower ends to a rim, f, which has aconvex upper surface about corresponding to the-curvature of the portionofthe top plate, b, of the wheel directly above it, as shown in Fig. l.

The top plate, Z), of the wheel extends down nearly to a level with therim f, the under surface of said plate b having a gradual curve, which,in connection with the curved rim j', deiiects the water downward as itpasses through the wheel, preventing all eddies and reaction, as thereare no angles nor abrupt prominences presented to the wat-er, and thelatter flows through the wheel in an unbroken smooth column, and acts inthe most favorable or efficient manner on the buckets c.

The bottom g of the scroll A has a circular opening, lL, 'made in it,and this opening is a trifle larger in diameter than the diameter ot'the rim f. D is a ring of metal, provided at its inner edge with apendent ilange, t'. The Lipper horizontal part of this ring restsloosely on the bottom g of the scroll A, and the rim f of the wheel B istted and works Within the flange t', the rim f tting as snugly as may bewithin the ange without creating any undue friction. The flange@ issmaller in diameter than the opening h, as shown in Fig. l, and the ringD is consequently allowed some lateral play. By this arrangement it willbe seen that an important result is attained. The metal ring preventsthe edges of the opening h being worn by the rim f, i'or the ring isallowed, on account of its lateral play or movement, to adjust itselfwith the wheel in case of the lathe getting a little inclined or out ofcenter. If the ring D were not employed, and the rim j' fitted snuglywithin the opening h, the edges of the latter would soon be worn byslight changes in the position of the wheel and much loss of poweroccasioned by leakage of water.

Having thus described my invention, whatv I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

The ring D, provided with the flange t', and arranged in relation withthe opening h, the scroll and rim f ofthe wheel to operate as and forthe purpose herein set forth.

N. F. BURNHAM. Witnesses:

E. G. SMYsER, LEONARD KooNs.

